Robert Burns was born in Alloway in Ayrshire, the son of a farmer who provided him with an excellent education. On the death of his father in 1784, Burns tried his hand at farming, but met with little success. While Burns considered emigration, he wrote a number of his finest poems: The Twa Dogs, The Cotter's Saturday Night, and To a Mouse all date from 1785. He hoped that by publishing his work, in the now famous Kilmarnock edition of his poems (1786), he would raise the money to establish himself in Jamaica. But such was the success of the edition that he decided to remain in Scotland and he was lionised by Edinburgh society.
The poetry of Robert Burns, both in Scots and English, has become an important part of Scottish National Identity. His personality - democratic and generous - has also become an ideal for many Scots.
Alexander Reid's miniature portrait belongs to the last eighteen months of the poet's life. By this time Burns was living in Dumfries, working as an exciseman, another farming venture on the Nith having proved a failure. Early in 1795, Burns described Reid's portrait to a friend: 'I am just sitting to Reid in this town for a miniature, and I think he has hit by far the best likeness of me ever was taken'.
